This week I met with someone leading a fast-growing network designed to connect scaling companies to people internationally who can help them with introductions, mentoring and more. They have a huge demand from people looking to pay to be in their network to both meet each other and to attend events where businesses come to ask for support in scaling to the next level in whatever city or region the particular event for that network is being held in.
However, it turns out their biggest constraint to growing their network is a lack of scaling businesses asking for support.
This conversation led me to a simple epiphany as to why that is the case.
Why don’t scaling companies seek support?
So, in looking at why scaling companies don’t seek support, I’ll break it down into a few areas of thought, from definition to background to source issues to solutions:
- What do we mean by “Scaling Companies”
- From the Information Age to the Connection Age
- Working “in” the business rather than “on” the business
- What can be done so that scaling businesses do ask for support?
What do we mean by “Scaling Companies”
In talking to that network head, they noted that they are short of scaling businesses asking for support (and, I note, this is free support in terms of introductions, mentoring etc, abundantly given).
They then went on to say that all too often when they do get companies asking them for support, they are typically at startup or early growth stage, rather than businesses that are firmly established in their geography and sector and looking to scale in new ways.
For sake of loose definition, let’s say businesses that are already turning over revenues of at £3m-£24m would fit that definition of scaling businesses that are established yet could truly use support to scale into new markets.
Now, those start-up and early growth businesses often have a wealth of support open to them from both networks and funded programmes, including grants, awards, learning programmes.
However, once businesses get past that level to the “Scaling” level, all too often not only are there fewer opportunities for such support for them, but they also don’t look for support.
For some countries, the lack of scaling businesses is a major issue that they’ve been trying to solve for decades at least.
My epiphany is for them to change their thinking to the source.
Perhaps they’ve looked at their lack of success and focussed on introducing more and more different programmes, funds, subsidies, grants, networks etc.
What if, however, we are looking at it all wrong? What if the answer is in looking at why scaling companies aren’t looking for support? Why might that be?
From the Information Age to the Connection Age
To look for an answer as to why scaling companies don’t look for support, let’s first step back for a moment and look at changes in business since the advent of the internet some 25 years ago. We’ll then look at issues at a deeper behavioural level, before then looking at some areas we can look at to shift this paradigm.
It often felt like I lived my career since the late 80s on aircraft. I was leading international businesses from a small and remote island, so it always seemed that I had to fly all over the place to meet people with the knowledge and resources we needed to grow our business. This was customers, vendors, suppliers, staff, financiers and more.
However, gradually and almost seamlessly, we have shifted from the Information Age to the Connection Age.
In this era we live in, we can acquire knowledge (including outsourcing, working remotely with teams etc) readily without physically meeting. Let’s simplify that. How much of your life now is on email with your team without ever meeting them? Most over 40 will remember the difficulty in moving information around, from faxes to (gasp) computer disks. Gosh, remember hard drives on servers before we had the cloud?
So, now information is readily accessible and the cost of anything routine and repetitive is trending towards zero cost.
Connections, though, are different. Connections are the ultimate currency.
Surely, though, you might think, connections in this age of hyper-connectivity, connections are super easy?
Yes, and no.
The reality I see is that the digital world does make it so much easier to be connected, but it also creates laziness in connection and makes connecting too linear, to narrowly focussed.
It does not allow for serendipities and unexpected connections.
In “Risk taking, trust, serendipity“, I wrote:
I don’t believe in luck, I don’t believe in coincidence. I believe in serendipity.
Perhaps it is a combination of clarity of purpose and creating the environment (both in structure and in belief and energy) to both allow serendipities to emerge and for you to see them in front of you and choose to make them part of your journey.
Meeting people face to face, attending events of like-minded people, networking, allowing for meeting interesting people and being curious and listening.
All of these things create that environment for serendipities to emerge, for making connections.
So, why don’t leaders of scaling businesses ask for support, why don’t they make as much of such opportunities for connections?
Working “in” the business rather than “on” the business
Well, for many years I have worked in supporting leaders in businesses and organisations of all sizes.
One area I always work on with clients is to support them in finding the right balance of working “in” the business rather than working “on” the business.
Nearly twenty years ago our business was involved in a major joint venture and I had my sleeves rolled right up and was working flat out to make sure this was launched and worked smoothly and as planned for.
At one stage we decided to shift more responsibility to operations to our joint venture partners, yet I was still right in there and working flat out.
One day my boss came to me and said that:
“for the next two years, I need you to: Do nothing.. and See Everything”
This shift in perspective was hugely valuable to the business yet I had not seen it.
So, for the next two years I did indeed step away from all operational responsibility and instead was able to look in at the business from a more outside perspective.
I was working “on” the business rather than “in” the business.
By doing so, I was able to add far more value at this higher context and strategic level than by being operationally focussed.
This lesson had a profound impact on me in my focus on business, such that, within a few years, I had shifted my work almost totally to “on” rather than “in” the business. The next stage for me was to shift to what I do now, which is to support others in doing this for themselves and their business. To lead more than manage, to see the big picture, the wood for the trees.
This then leads us straight to why scaling businesses don’t ask for support.
Let us look at what we’ve talked about and consider how they all join up to conspire to create this environment:
- Information does seem easier and freer than ever to get, yet we are absolutely bombarded with it. Business today moves faster than it ever has before, yet at the same time is moving slower than it ever will in future. Business leaders are buried in information and so buried in work, keeping them stuck working “in” their business. Some people are clearly more than 200 emails per day, with their “To Do” lists often comprised of the “urgent” rather than the “important”. Information overwhelm is rife.
- We do feel connected more than ever, yet we are actually less connected at a human level than ever before. Loneliness is an epidemic, with some countries even creating government ministries to address this. In a recent post: “Communicate both online and offline“, I talked about the bias we have towards communicating with text and email over taking time to meet face to face, to have that whole and human interaction. Of course, as we are so busy working “in” the business, naturally we don’t have time for face to face meetings, so connections are lost.
So, we have more “To Do” on our lists and for communication we make do with online communication rather than face to face.
With such drivers, as our businesses get to that “scaling” level of (say) £3-24m revenue, no wonder we feel we have no time to take to actually meet and connect with people who may be able to support us!
And so…
What can be done so that scaling companies do ask for support?
When leaders of scaling businesses are stuck “in” the business rather than working “on” the business, how can they be supported to see the value of taking time to connect to ways they can be supported?
I feel this paradigm shift to look at this issue through the eyes of individuals leading scaling companies is a valuable question. Sometimes a good question is as valuable as the answer.
That said, here are a few ideas from me from my years of experience supporting such leaders.
- Offer the feeling of the possibility of more time
- Offer support in terms of resource rather than money
- Have those who have experienced support be ambassadors
1: Offer the feeling of the possibility of more time
All too often leaders of scaling businesses simply feel they cannot make the time to look at their business strategically, to work “on” the business rather than “in” the business.
As a coach and sounding board, I’ve often heard from people that they’d love to work with me but they haven’t got time.
In such situations there is no benefit in rationalising this with them, they simply need to feel that there is a possibility that working with you for support will actually create space and time for them rather than negatively impacting their already crammed diaries and oppressive workload.
Over the years one of the most powerful impacts I feel I’ve ever had for clients is to give them that sense of freedom. To hear from someone that they can now take vacations with their family for the first time in years, to go home at night and now check emails or answer calls, even to go on vacation and not even think of checking in on the business as it runs by itself.
To many leaders, this feels like an impossible dream. As long as they are in that space they simply won’t be open to taking time and energy to be supported.
So, if you are looking to support them, make it easy for them. Show them a way they can indeed create rather than lose time.
For me, if someone is in that position I’ll ask them to first trust me enough to meet with me twice in a month, for one hour each time. At those meetings, I will listen then make simple recommendations based on what I hear, recommendations that will save them time and energy.
Once they get a sense that creating time and space is possible, then opportunities can gradually open up.
2: Offer support in terms of resource rather than money
Earlier this year I met someone at a learning event for a cohort on a well-funded programme for growing businesses. This was an intensive programme for founders held over several months of multi-day learning journeys. In addition, the companies participating received a cash grant as an award for their participation.
This particular leader ran one of the more established and successful fast growth companies. They were going to leave that evening event then work in their hotel room in London through the night with perhaps two or three hours for sleep. Why? Well, their business had to be kept running while they were in the programme.
In their next breath, they noted they felt a bit trapped, as they really were in the programme as they needed the money that came with being in the programme. Of course the programme itself had amazing learning value, but at that moment it felt like handcuffs to them.
Now, perhaps those who designed the programme (from a government agency) thought that the funds granted would be a compensation for the founders having to take time out of their business. Perhaps they even thought those founders would use the monies to pay for resources to replace their time and energy while they were on the programme.
If those were the thoughts, they were misguided. Instead they had participants not fully present, exhausted through working at night after intense learning days, plus feeling handcuffed by the money granted.
What they may not have done is look at it through the eyes of the founders. Founders do struggle to let go of control of their business and the tasks within it. Giving them money won’t mean that they will hire help, it will typically mean they will use it for growth capital.
So, I’d recommend, based on that experience of the minds of founders, to offer them support in tangible terms rather than money. For example, a major tech accelerator I worked with in the USA took $2m of their $50m fund and used that to set up and fund for two years a specialist internal business coaching business, with, for those two years, the coaching firm having only one client, the tech businesses in that programme.
If they’d given them the option of cash or a coach, they’d have all said cash. However, the investors knowing what they felt was best was to offer business coaching (the reasons for this being catalysed by some very sad and emotive events befalling founders), they chose to mandate that the founder in these companies received resource as part of their package rather than just all cash.
3: Have those who have experienced support be ambassadors
Finally for these posts, in ten years or so of working as a business and leadership coach and sounding board, very few business leaders in scaling businesses (or any size business or organisation) wake up in the morning and say “you know, I really need to get myself a coach”.
Unless they have had direct experience of the value to them as an individual and to their business, chances are they won’t feel strongly enough (remember, they are really busy working “in” their business on the urgent “To Do” items!) to research and take action.
So, for coaching or any other network or programme looking to support scaling businesses, let me take this back up to the idea of connections. If you are looking to find businesses to bring in to benefit from the support you offer, one of the best ways to do this is to ask those who have already experienced and felt the benefit to go through their own list of scaling companies and be your ambassadors, have them tell their friends and fellow founders and leaders that they simply must look to get the support they need.
When someone shares the value they received and felt when they got out of their pattern of being too busy to look for support, very often they will be far more likely to be energised to actively consider it and even sign up to be supported.